Hello everyone. We're going to go ahead and lock the thread now. In part because of claims that add to the confusion, and in part because we're going to
respond to some of your concerns in this post.
First: Thank you
To our players here who have made every effort to make a good-faith arguments and strived to ensure your points are accurate as possible,
we sincerely thank you for your diligence and dedication to constructive discussion.
Thank you to everyone who
specifically pointed out the following:
- The skin and accent rules have not changed since 2016.
- The color red is not a banned color.
- Gory or violent skins or accents with low-ID numbers were grandfathered in during the 2016 rule change and shouldn't be used for comparison.
- Text descriptions are not the same as image artwork and should not be used as justification for gory or violent visual art.
Second: Privacy
We don't discuss the details of rejections with third-parties for reasons related to player privacy. We understand this response in particular can be frustrating when an issue is high-profile, but we will not discuss our decision regarding a player's submission with anyone but them, even if it means only one side of the issue will be heard.
Third: How Rejections Work
Third and directly related to the second point:
All skin/accent artists receive a detailed rejection message with guidance on how to address the flagged issues. If necessary, a visual guide clarifying areas of confusion on a specific design can be provided to that design's artist. And all skin/accent artists are able to directly ask the Skin and Accent team for more information in the
Skin and Accent Problems thread.
A rejection does not mean the blueprint the artist purchased can no longer be used, forcing the artist to purchase another one. The design on the blueprint can be changed and submitted
an unlimited number of times until approved and turned into an official
Flight Rising in-game item.
Finally: How Approvals Work & Why
We realize, understand, and acknowledge your points that the approval process can feel inconsistent. It can feel this way because—as noted in the
Skin and Accent Rules themselves—
all designs are approved or rejected on a case-by-case basis. The approval process is inherently subjective.
Why are submitted designs reviewed on a case-by-case basis?
Because once approved, that skin or accent design becomes
an official Flight Rising in-game item, which can then be viewed by anyone in multiple areas and ways: on a dragon in the lair, forums, Scrying Workshop, on the front page, private messages, linked in the forums, and viewed in the Game Database.
This means that for designs depicting violence, injuries, or gore, the bar is
high and if we aren't sure about it, we will err on the side of caution during review. For this reason, the likelihood of a defined violence and gore checklist for artists to reference is low, as that would limit our ability to protect our game and business. We can't stress enough that as site administrators and game developers, we
must account for the worst-case scenarios.
Going forward, if any skin or accent artists have questions about their designs and approval, please continue to use the
Skin and Accent Problems thread. For rules and policies feedback or future suggestions on this issue,
all players should use
Contact Us.
We understand from reading your feedback that not everyone will agree with or like this answer, but it is our answer and response to your shared concerns and confusion. We hope this will help to clarify why the skin and accent approval process is the way it is for both artists and non-artists alike, and that this understanding will make this year's
Riot of Rot an overall more enjoyable experience for everyone.
